


Save what we Hate (or even moderately dislike)

by Esmethewitch



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Armitage Hux Being An Asshole, Awkward Boners, BAMF Rose Tico, Crack Treated Seriously, Debate over cats vs dogs, Espionage, F/M, Fix-It, Getting Together, Humor, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, One-sided Matt the Radar Technician/Rose Tico, Rose Tico Deserved Better, Rose goes back for Hux, Rose kicks Pryde in the balls, Sort of kidnapping, background stormpilot, millicent ships it, past animal death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:02:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22169836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esmethewitch/pseuds/Esmethewitch
Summary: After Chewbacca, Poe, and Finn return from their mission empty-handed, Leia sends Rose to retrieve Hux. After all, he is a wealth of information and is doomed if they just left him there. But the problem is that he doesn't want to go. Rose is determined to rescue Hux, whether he likes it or not.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico
Comments: 40
Kudos: 161





	1. Missing Mole

“So,” Leia asked Finn, Poe, and Chewbacca, “where’s my mole? I have more questions I’d like to ask him. His intelligence was good, but it only goes so far.”

“Um…” Poe turned to Finn, who looked at the floor of the briefing room and then longingly at the door. “Well, the thing is, see…”

“He wouldn’t come with us,” Finn said. Hux’s rejection still stung. Especially since it was Finn who insisted on bringing Hux along, Finn who pled with Hux to start again. “You don’t have to stay here. You can move on, do something else with your life! And they’ll kill you. You know that.” Finn had put a hand on Poe’s shoulder, and coughed meaningfully when the pilot tried to protest.  _ I was a Stormtrooper, and I left. He is a General, and while I find him a despicable person, he too can leave. _

Hux had only laughed at Finn’s offer. “You didn’t want to be a soldier. Now you’re a soldier anyway, just for the other side. And everybody calls you a saint just because you refused to shoot people at a village in the middle of bantha-kriff nowhere. Ironic. It would be different for me, I’m sure. If I’m lucky, they’ll give me gruel three times a day, sheets, and a proper toilet instead of a bucket, but there’s no guarantee of that.”

Finn sighed. “If you talked to General Organa, maybe you could work out something…”

Hux shook his head, and for the first time Finn noted that he looked scared. “No. If I didn’t give her what she wanted, she could just reach into my head and take it. If she’s tired, she can get Rey to step up and cover her shift. I’m not letting them do that to me.”

“They won’t.”

“How do you know that?” Hux pursed his lips. “Are you a mind-reader as well, FN-2187? You’ll only slow yourselves down trying to bargain with me. Shut up and shoot me in the arm.” He gestured to his shoulder, pointing at the First Order emblem on his greatcoat. 

“It’s Finn now.”

Hux sighed. “With a little bit of luck, I will never have to speak to you again. The arm. Right here.”

Finn shot him in the leg.

“What the kriff?! I thought you were the only stormtrooper who could shoot worth a kark.” Hux staggered to the floor, red hair throwing off the yoke of oppression known as hair gel, hands clamped over the smoking hole in his thigh. 

“Why should it matter?”, Finn replied. “You told me yourself you weren’t going anywhere.” He turned to Chewbacca and Poe. “We can lift him now.”

“No!” Hux turned to them. “If you carry me away, I will comm the entire ship and alert them to the presence of Resistance Scum.”

Poe sighed. “Why do you want to stay here so much, buddy?”

“I’m not leaving my cat. And I don’t think you have time to go back for her. You’d have to go through the Officer Residential Quarters, and there’s no way you three could get there without being seen. I stay. You go.”

So they did. 

Leia Organa’s eyes pierced them as she considered which question to ask next. “Why did he refuse to leave with you?”

“He’d rather die than spend the rest of his days in a cell,” Finn said. “Or be interrogated with the Force. Can’t say as I blame him.”

“He wouldn’t leave without his cat,” Poe added. 

“His cat?”, Leia echoed.

“Yeah, I guess he has one,” Poe said. “I didn’t think he cared about anything besides power. It sounded kind of like an excuse.”

“It wasn’t,” Finn said quietly. “It’s the only thing he cared about besides power. He loves that thing.”

He tried not to think about a day long ago when he saw the tiny redhead, his hair plastered down by rain sneaking down a corridor, skiving off a planetside training session. Hux was supposed to order Finn’s cadre of trainee Stormtroopers about. Finn was supposed to practice shooting and run through an obstacle course. FN-2914 just had an...accident, and Finn felt wrong lining up with his squadmates without him. He needed time to cry on his own. Stormtroopers weren’t supposed to go off and cry on their own.

The older boy looked at the young Stormtrooper, Finn’s face wet but not with rain, his helmet tucked under his arm. Finn looked back. Hux had a set of three red lines across his face, the too-large greatcoat had a moving lump beneath it, and something was hissing. After a few seconds, they both turned on their heels and walked away. That moment was something that didn’t happen.

Leia sighed. “It’s not like I can just send you back for him. Oh well. Hmm. You were seen going aboard the ship recently, but I know someone who hasn’t.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out her commlink. “Rose? I have a job for you.”

***

Rose Tico pulled on her black leather gloves and glared at her reflection in the mirror. Right. This was it, her chance to retrieve the Resistance’s most useful spy. Her hair was pulled up into a painfully tight bun. It was a good thing she’d kept the uniform she wore while infiltrating the First Order with Finn. She had to get into character. She pulled the meanest face she could think of, imagining that somebody had opened a pit of sewage right below her nose. She turned to Finn and Poe. “How do I look, Finn? Is this okay?”

“You look constipated,” Finn said. 

“No, you look like a dominatrix,” Poe lowered his eyebrows critically. “Yeah. Maybe don’t frown like that, and you won’t give off that impression.”

“What’s a dominatrix?”, Finn asked. It wasn’t that Finn was naive or stupid. Sex in the First Order was typically a frenzied, secretive affair. It was dangerous to do things as innocuous as hold hands or kiss in public. Since he’d got up the courage (on Rose’s advice) to tell Poe how he felt, they held hands and kissed all the time. In public. Rose tried not to feel bitter. Finn caught their expressions. “Is that another fancy sex thing?”

“Yes,” Poe said, “It’s another fancy sex thing. A dominatrix is a…” he glanced at Rose, “lady that hits people with a stick, and tells them what to do. Sometimes, she’s paid for it.”

Finn let out an exasperated sigh. “Why would anybody  _ pay  _ for a thing like that?”

Rose coughed. “Alright. I should have said, ‘Is my uniform correct for a First Order Lieutenant?’ Is it?”

Finn appraised the tunic, the gloves, the shiny boots, the stupid little hat that she had to pin in place over her bun (her hair had grown out). “Think so. Unless they’ve changed it since you’ve been gone. The only risk is if somebody sees you, starts ordering you about, and you don’t know what to do. Go for Hux, tranq him out if you have to, and get the kriff out of there.”

“Okay.” Only then did she realize how risky their plan was. Poe would dock the  _ Millenium Falcon  _ with the  _ Finalizer,  _ relying on Rose’s new cloaking shields (that she hadn’t tested against everything, but there was no time for that) to hide them from the eyes of the First Order. Then, they would disengage and fly away but stay in orbit, leaving her in her stolen uniform to find Hux, subdue him, and drag him into an escape pod. That she had to hijack and insert the cloaking-shield function onto as well, but simultaneously activate a homing beacon so that Finn and Poe could find the pod and tractor them back to the  _ Falcon.  _

So many things could go wrong. And all this was for an evil, greasy womp-rat of a man who blew up five planets full of people, and rendered her homeworld uninhabitable. No. She couldn’t do this. Not for him. But she’d promised Leia. Maybe they could tie up Hux and make him talk some more. Or maybe he’d sing like an Alderaanian Finch in an attempt to save his skin. Either way, this would be worth it. Besides, he had an innocent cat who did not deserve to suffer death in the absence of its master or the awful fate of belonging to a man like that.  _ Do it for the little kitty,  _ she told herself. The problem was that she preferred dogs.

The  _ Falcon  _ docked without incident. She hugged Finn and Poe, tightened the pouch of tools hidden in a secret pocket she’d installed in the leg of those horrid, bulbous jodhpurs. She took a deep breath, lowered the brim of her cap over her face, and gave the best glare she could manage, hopefully without looking like a dominatrix. She imagined it was Hux in front of her, and her glare intensified.

She stomped throughout the halls of the  _ Finalizer,  _ but found only more laundry droids, a breakroom where several spotty young officers were swatting a bouncy little ball over a tiny net installed on a table, a gym, and a cafeteria serving dismal-looking trays of nutrient glop. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself, but she felt well and truly lost. Where would she find Hux? Where was his cat? If she could answer the second question, she could probably solve the first. 

“What are you doing here, ma’am?”, a voice asked. She turned. There was a man with ugly glasses, and the vest and uniform of a Radar Technician. It wasn’t so different from her Resistance tech uniform. One of her kind of people, though he was First Order. Like many poor souls relegated to technical support across the Galaxy, he looked chronically confused. She looked at his nametag. It read: “Matt”. 

“I’m supposed to deliver a report to General Hux,” she replied. This response ran the risk of trapping her on the Bridge in front of a bunch of real officers who could see how fake she was, but if Hux had any survival instinct left in him, he’d squirrel her away and let her work. “I got a bit, ah, turned around on the way to the Bridge, though. I recently transferred to this ship, you see.”

“Yeah, I know,” Matt said sympathetically. “This ship is a maze. I’ve been here since I was about fifteen, and I still get lost all the time. Have you seen Kylo Ren?”

“What? Where?” Rose nearly jumped. If Kylo Ren was here, she’d be doomed. 

“No, he’s not here,” Matt said. “I  _ wish  _ I’d seen him. He has an eight-pack. He’s shredded. His lightsaber is like, awesomer than the awesomest thing I’ve ever seen...choc-banana muffins, I think.”

“Well, I hope you see him someday,” Rose said politely. “He does have a very interesting lightsaber. The triple point is unique. Do you have time to show me to the Bridge? I get that you’re busy here; even directions would be great.”

“No,” said Matt, taking her gloved hand with no consideration for personal space, “I can walk you there. I’m kind of...stuck with this radar repair. I’m scared that if I do anything else, I’ll kriff it up worse.”

Rose looked at the tangle of wires sticking out of the wall panel. The poor boy had got the Calcinator Intake tube crossed in the two opposite Polar Callibrator wires. An easy fix. Who had trained this nerfherder? He seemed nice for a First Order member, but thicker than triple-reinforced durasteel.

“I can help you with that.”

“Really?” Matt’s brown eyes shone in adoration. “Nobody’s ever offered to help me before! Are you sure you want to do this? You are an officer, after all.” Then, he frowned. “How do you know what to do?”

Rose smiled. “I was in Radar Repair club at Academy,” she said. “It’s a bit of a hobby, but I’ll see what I can do.” She took his pliers and wrench, and fixed the Calcinator, turning one of the current switches on to test her work. Matt leapt back, no doubt expecting the thing to spark and smoke. It worked perfectly. 

“Wow. You did it! Now I won’t get yelled at today. Thank you so much!”

“You can say thank you by showing me to the Bridge,” Rose said. Matt was blushing as he inexpertly packed up his tools. They walked along what felt like miles of metal corridors. Rose realized that it was a good thing she’d picked up Matt. An officer aimlessly wandering about by herself was suspicious. An officer walking alongside a technician that she could have ordered to show her something or summoned for a repair job,that was normal. 

“It’s just down there, ma’am,” Matt told her, gesturing to a room of blinking lights and walls of transperisteel. “I don’t want to go in because I’ll get yelled at, but you need to be there. Anyway. Thanks for helping me, and let me know if you see Kylo Ren. You’re now my favorite person on this ship, besides him.”

“Thanks for walking me here,” said Rose. Matt seemed earnest but a little weird, and she was relieved to get rid of him, despite his puppy-like demeanour.There was something familiar about his strong features, sprinkled with moles. And he was self-conscious enough to dye his hair; a bright artificial blonde shining above dark eyebrows. He would look a lot handsomer with black hair. 

She strode into the Bridge with a confidence she did not feel. There was Hux, head bowed over a console, hair flashing like a signal flare. She walked over to him, and the officers seated along the wall of other, smaller consoles turned their heads. “General Hux, sir, I’ve come to report to you. About the intelligence situation. And picking up your cat.”


	2. When You're Gone

Hux gave her a look like a house-proud lady watching an uncouth guest set a dripping glass down on the shiniest wooden table without a coaster, his mouth gaping open in disapproval. He looked at her, and then back at his men at their consoles. “Picking up my  _ cat?  _ Ah.” He glanced under her cap at her face, recognition dawning. “Lieutenant, come with me to my office. Immediately.”

“Yes, sir,” Rose replied. Hux limped off the Bridge, and Rose followed. When they were alone in a corridor, Rose hurried to his side. “Are you okay? Do you need help walking?”

Hux just glared at her and mouthed what looked like “cameras”. Rose nodded. “Do you require assistance perambulating, sir?” That was how all First Order officers talked, right? Hopefully, she was in character.

“No. I do not.” Immediately following this statement, his leg spasmed, he grit his teeth, and the proud General braced himself against a wall and slid down in an undignified heap of greatcoat and limbs.

“You’re limping. Sir. Weakness does not become the glorious... strength of the First Order. It must be removed and cut out, like the sprouting eyes of a tuber left too long in the back of a cupboard.” Hux shoved himself back up to his feet again.

He snorted. “Observant, are we? And stop the amateur theatrics. You’re just making things worse. Sprouting tuber indeed.”

“You shouldn’t be putting weight on that leg,” Rose said.

“You should have made more of an effort,” Hux said, gesturing to her. “I can only hope you’ve not met anyone else on your way to me.” He grimaced as he stepped on his weak leg. Rose couldn’t stand it anymore.

She threw his spindly arm over her shoulders, dragging him forward, clamping her hand around his delicate wrist to hold him in place. He was tall, yes, but Hux was a string bean, hiding his slender form beneath the greatcoat. Rose could manage him. He squawked. “There,” Rose said. “You can put weight on your good leg, and then sort of swing on me like a crutch.”

Hux peered at her doubtfully. “You’re too short for this.”

“I’m sturdy. It’s fine.” They were making rather good time this way. “So, where’s your office? I don’t know where anything is on this ship.”

“You are a terrible spy.”

“Cameras?” She cocked her head quizzically. “Are we being recorded? No?” she smiled hopefully. Maybe Hux would cooperate, and they’d be done in half an hour. “Anyway, I’m not a spy. I’m here to get you off this ship. This is a rescue.” Hux glared at her. “You’re being rescued,” Rose said, trying to clarify the situation. “By me.”

“Right. So the Resistance can kill me instead of the First Order. After a protracted trial for war crimes. Sign me up.”

Rose sighed. Now was the time to play her only card. “Hux, if you die, who will look after your cat?”

“What?”

“You do have a cat, don’t you? I’m picking her up, too. I assume you have a box. Her name is...Malevolent?” She couldn’t remember the cat’s name. It seemed an extravagance to name a cat, a thing which spent its days snoozing on windowsills and hardly ever condescending to interact with mere mortals. It was different with dogs. A dog needs a name that one can holler through the woods, up over the streambank, or across the beach, so the faithful hound could hear and return to its master. Only someone who lived in a sad box in space with no other object of affection in their life would give a fancy name to their cat. Someone like General Hux, destroyer of worlds.

“ _ Millicent,”  _ Hux hissed in correction. “Who told you that?”

“Finn. The ex-Stormtrooper. He tells me a lot of things, and he tells General Organa more. Nobody holds what he used to do against him.” That wasn’t a hundred percent true. Rose found it hard to reconcile Finn, a cheerful, kind ray of sunshine with the awful, cold men and women who occupied her planet and then poisoned its waters and bled the veins of ore dry. And she knew that Finn worked hard to put on a brave face for the Galaxy. He suffered a constant feeling of unease, uprooted from his childhood routines, without a family to even remember. 

“FN-2187 didn’t blow up the Hosnian System.” Hux was sneering now, even as Rose was pulling him along. “I see what you’re doing here. You rescue me, so your precious Princess Organa doesn’t have her mole’s death on her conscious. Then, you try me or keep me as your pet First Order snitch. Either so-called justice is served in this Galaxy, or I’ll have to continue to be useful to you. I don’t want to find out how long I last.”

“You still haven’t told me who’s looking after your cat when you’re dead,” Rose said. “Some people leave pets in their will. Have you left her your army?”

No response. Hux waved her to a halt in front of a door panel, then keyed in a code. The door slid open to reveal a nondescript office. There was a First Order symbol on the wall (this freaky death-cult had them everywhere, Rose noticed), and next to it hung a framed diploma. Structural engineering Masters. Huh. Rose would have thought Hux exclusively studied Evil Shouty Speeches and Destruction, with a minor in Hair Gel. There was a tiny framed holopic on his desk, facing away from Rose in the uncomfortable chair he’d motioned for her to sit in. Rose craned her neck. Hux frowned and snatched it away before she could tell what it was.

“Is one of your lieutenants going to feed the cat when you’re gone?” Rose asked. There was another thing you had to do for them too, she recalled. “And clean out the litter box?”

Hux shook his head. “No. She is very particular about the company she keeps.”

Rose knew one of her faults was never letting anything go. But she could use this here. “Alright. You win. I leave in an escape pod, one of your mean officers shoots you or Kylo Ren chokes you to death. Because they’ll figure out that you were the spy after a while. You get a nice, quick clean death. Maybe they’ll just shoot you and you’ll die right away. If you’re lucky. Who’s going to explain it to Millicent? Who will feed her? Maybe she’ll be shot too, or turned out to starve when they go planetside. She’ll be waiting at the door for her human, who will never return…”

“That’s enough, Rebel Scum.” Hux leaned forward over the desk.

“Technically, it’s Resistance.”

“Close enough. Now, I cannot leave in the middle of my shift. I cannot be seen walking back to my quarters with a Lieutenant. I propose that you go to my quarters, taking care not to be seen. You will wait until the end of my shift at 18 hours, whereupon I will join you, and you will explain your plans to me.”

“Alright. Have fun trying to crush the Galaxy beneath your feet. I need directions, though.”

Hux then produced a datapad with a stylus, pulling up a holomap of the ship. He drew a path in red, and handed her a keycard. “There. Don’t talk to anyone on the way. You don’t fool anybody. If you’re lucky, people will assume you’re someone’s civvy girlfriend that they snuck in. Maybe a hooker. At worst, a spy.”

Rose frowned. “People do that? They sneak somebody through just for a booty call?”

“Occasionally.” Hux pinched up his face in disgust. “We’ve had to lock up our laundry rooms with a retinal scanner now. The uniforms were just too easy to steal.” He then smiled unpleasantly. “But sometimes, the ship makes a hyperspace jump earlier than those miscreants thought. Then, we have stowaways, which become new conscripts. So the inconvenience does have its rewards.”

Rose pushed her chair back, away from this horrible man. He destroyed a good portion of the Galaxy. But his intel could help them save it. Rose was keen to grill him on possible shields from giant laser beams in particular. “I’m just doing this for your cat,” she told him. “I couldn’t give a womp-rat’s ass about you. I would have given anything to be evacuated with my dog when I was a kid.”

Hux pursed his lips. “The feeling is mutual,” he replied. He stood, groaning. “Wait, your dog?”

Now Rose decided it was time to let Hux know how much suffering he had wrought upon her. “Yes. My dog. You are not the only one in the Galaxy with a pet, you know.”

Hux looked her up and down. “I suppose you like loud, messy dogs that track mud everywhere and sniff at crotches. And you prefer these beasts to cats.”

“As a matter of fact, I do!”, Rose yelled. “Dogs are kind. They are useful. Our dog Niko would catch rats and swim in the stream, and come out with a big fish for dinner. I don’t know how he did it. He was patient, too. Paige said I’d hold onto him when I was learning to walk, and he’d slow down so we could go around the house together. I prefer them to many people I could name.” Kriff it, she wasn’t going to cry here in front of him. “We couldn’t take Niko on the shuttle with us. Everyone in our village was leaving.” She swiped at her eyes with the palms of her hands. The faceless, nameless mean Lieutenant she was pretending to be wouldn’t cry.

“So you left him there?” Hux was perfectly composed. Rose wanted to slap him. Or bite him again.

“Yes. Well, we were going to. At the last minute, Dad told me to get him his blaster, and that he was going back to our house. We were in the line to board. He wouldn’t tell me why. He…” Rose gulped. “He told us it was better than leaving him to starve when he got back to us. He was right. Didn’t stop me from bawling my eyes out the whole way to the capital.” Hux didn’t deserve to know any of this. “There were millions of cats in the Hosnian System, you know. And a bunch in the sections of Hays Minor that your lot firebombed. Maybe you don’t care about sentient lifeforms, but you killed all those cats.”

“The New Republic’s negligence and disregard for the First Order killed the cats,” Hux countered.

“The New Republic didn’t fire that laser,” Rose spat. They were wasting their time. “Okay. I will go to your quarters and wait.” Hux winced, and rubbed at his thigh. “Are you alright to walk back to the Bridge like that?” If Hux couldn’t run, they might be in trouble.

“I’m fine”, he growled.

“And I’m Queen Amidala of Naboo. Let me look at that wound. I have a medkit in my pocket. It’s your thigh, right?”

“I told you, I’m fine.” 

“So fine you slid down a wall. What happens if we have to run away? What if I have to drag you into an escape pod? What if the wound opens up while I’m moving you, and I get your blood all over me?”

Hux rolled his eyes. “Alright.” He moved and stood before her, wincing as he sat back down atop his desk. Rose knelt on the floor, unbuttoned his trousers, and pulled them down to his ankles. Hux shrieked. “What the kriff do you think you’re doing?” His miles of pasty, white legs nearly blinded her, pallid skin like an evil worm that lived in a coil under a rock and gnawed at the Galaxy. Except his legs were rather shapely. And there were a couple of freckles here and there. She couldn’t let herself think about these things. 

“Looking at the wound,” Rose replied, untying the mass of bacta bandages around his leg. Let’s see. Yes, he’d kept it clean. There was a dark brown coloration, but that was to be expected with blaster-burn wounds of this type. She took out a tube of salve from her medkit, and squirted some on a square of gauze, daubing it on.. This bacta-salve would prevent the severest of scarring and promote closure. There was a sharp intake of breath from Hux. “What’s wrong? she asked.

“Could you possibly sit in a chair instead of kneeling on the floor? That might help matters”

“Why?” Then, she looked up at his tented boxers and Hux’s horrified expression. Oh. “I am only touching the wounded thigh,” she stated. “I will not touch you anywhere else.” She moved to a seated position on the office chair. Hux’s cause for embarrassment was probably fear. Fear-boners were a thing, right? Hux had to be scared of her. After she bit Hux, he’d screamed and pulled away. Which meant that she’d established a sort of dominance, and he would not trifle with her. Hopefully. She bandaged him back up, and reached for his waistband. He swatted her hands away, and did up the trousers himself. He did not look at her. 

Rose got up, and packed away her little medkit. She rushed to the door.

“Wait,” Hux said.

“What?”

“I’m sorry about your dog.”

“Thanks, I guess.” She left him there and strode off to his quarters.


	3. Cat Worship

Rose walked along the labyrinthine hallways, trying to remember the directions. Hux’s keycard bit into her gloved hand as she clenched her fist around it. 

Someone was walking behind her. Rose didn’t turn to see who it was. The First Order was supposed to be an unfriendly place. She pulled her cap down further over her face. “Hey!”

She turned. “What?” Hux said not to talk to anyone, but being inexplicably silent was probably worse. It was the radar technician from before. Matt. 

“I, um…” Matt blushed, then stared at his boots. “I realize that I didn’t get your name. Earlier. We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Matt. I’m a radar technician.” He stuck his hand out to Rose. She shifted the keycard to her left hand, and shook it.

“I’m...Lily. I’m a lieutenant.”

“Lily. That’s a pretty name.”

“Thanks.” She smiled, the rictus of a woman trapped in conversation when she had many other things to do. “I’m a bit busy at the moment.”

“Oh. Um. See…” Matt fought some internal battle with himself. “I was thinking that since you’re new here, you might like me to show you around some more. If you’re single, I could buy you a drink after.”

“Oh!” On one hand, the boy was dopey. On the other, he was kind of cute and actually seemed nice. On yet a third hand, that slapped away both of these hands, she was supposed to be a spy on a mission. She did not have time to go out for a walk and a drink. She was not lonely. She was not disappointed that all the handsome, sensitive men in the Resistance were gay. It had been years since anyone had asked her out, but that didn’t bother her at all, she had more important things to do. Matt’s overture was proof that she could still get it if she wanted to. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I...I have a girlfriend. Back home. We’re getting married next year.”

“Sorry.” Matt looked like a kicked puppy. “It’s kind of a good thing you said no. There’s this other girl that I like, but I’m not sure if she likes me and things are kind of complicated. We need to have some real talk soon. I don’t know if she just wants to be friends or if she _ like-  _ likes me, you know. Your girlfriend is so lucky, though.”

“Aw. Thanks.” Why was a mere radar technician walking along Officer’s Row? Maybe somebody ordered him to fix something in the living quarters. “I have to go right now. I’m off-shift now, but I start really early tomorrow. Got to get some sleep.”

“Yeah. That’s important.” Matt glanced at her, features unreadable. “You do know the Junior Officer dorms are the other way, right? If you keep on going this way, you’ll end up in Hux’s quarters. Or Kylo Ren’s quarters. They’re right next to each other.”

“I know,” said Rose with false confidence. “General Hux asked me to take care of his cat. He’s really busy this week, so I’m feeding her and doing the litterbox now.”

“Be careful,” said Matt. “That cat is vicious. She’ll scratch and bite anybody who crosses her. She pees in my---I mean, Kylo Ren’s helmet. She karks up my-- _ -Kylo’s  _ cremated ashes of his enemies, uses them as her litter box. And tears Kylo Ren’s robes to shreds. I---he hates that thing.”

“How do you know so much about Kylo Ren?” A radar technician should not know so much about the Supreme Leader.

“He writes a blog,” Matt said quickly. Perhaps too quickly. “I follow it. I’m his number-one fan. Even though some people say he overshares on it.”

“Oh. I’ll have to check that blog out. What’s it called?”

“You wouldn’t like it,” Matt said. “It’s kind of dark. There’s lots of stuff about being torn apart. And severed heads.”

“I probably wouldn’t like it, then.”

“Yeah.” Matt’s hair suddenly  _ shifted.  _ A lock of wavy, black hair snaked down, gleaming darkly against the blonde hair which now looked suspiciously fake. Matt yelped, then corrected himself. “I left my, my radar repair kit in Supreme Leader Ren’s room. He made me fix his thermostat. I’m gonna get it and head out.” So-called Matt ran for one of the nondescript doors, hit the panel, and slid it shut.

_ I think Matt is really Kylo Ren. Oh no. Was he reading my mind?  _ She stuck her key card into Hux’s door panel, and prepared for the worst. There was a “meow” from the depths of the room. She walked in, and an orange streak ran for the gap between the door and the wall. “Kriff!” The cat couldn’t escape. They could not be delayed longer by Hux banging on a tin of meat with a spoon and sticking “missing cat” posters to every wall on the ship. She grabbed it about the middle, and the door slid shut. Hot lines of pain burned on her forearms as the cat struggled against her, raking her with sharp claws. She let go. For the first time, she got a close look at General Hux’s pride and joy.

She wasn’t expecting the hissing, evil furball to be so big. The cat was approximately three feet long from nose to tail, with ginger fur lightly spotted with black (did Hux buy a cat to match himself?). Her big ears were adorned with black tufts of hair at each point. One angry yellow eye glared at Rose, the other an unseeing milky white. The fluffy tail waved peevishly. 

“I’ll leave you alone if you leave me alone,” Rose told Millicent. Millicent flattened her ears against her head and hissed. Rose backed away slowly until her legs met resistance with a piece of furniture, and she tripped and fell onto an ice-blue couch sprinkled with ginger hair. The cat came closer. Rose shrank against the cushions.  _ This is how I die,  _ she thought,  _ torn to ribbons by General Hux’s cat.  _

“Mrrrt”, said Millicent. She stalked back and forth before the couch. Rose swung her legs and booted feet up, hopefully out of reach of the monster.  _ Wait. Cats can jump and climb. I’m not safe here.  _ Millicent crouched and leapt up, climbing over Rose’s spread legs and stepping heavily atop her crotch. Rose braced herself for the bite of sharp teeth. Instead, the cat just sniffed her. Millicent sniffed Rose’s cheek, then moved down to her gloved hands, licking at them with a dry pink tongue. She seemed very interested in Rose’s fingers. After letting out a few more “Mrrrt”s, she began rubbing her head against Rose’s hand. 

“Okay,” said Rose. “You like me, then?” Tentatively, she scratched Millicent under her chin. Millicent’s eyes closed; she melted into Rose’s hand and let out a rumbling growl. No, that wasn’t a growl, that was a purr. Rose shoved her legs together and sat up straighter, bracing herself against the arm of the couch. Millicent stretched and draped herself across Rose’s lap. She was heavy. When Rose tried to stop petting her, Millicent would meow agitatedly and butt her head against Rose’s hands. Rose sighed. Then, she realized that a life confined to this couch with Millicent would not be too bad at all. The warm, fluffy weight of the cat was a comforting blanket that breathed in time with her. Rose fought sleep as her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. 

After what felt like only five minutes, the door panel hissed open. Millicent jumped off Rose’s lap and scampered to the door. “Millie! Daddy’s home, and he’s going to get you your dinner!” Millicent purred like a motor, winding herself around Hux’s legs as he crooned to her. “Who’s a good girl? You are! And you get the nice wet food tonight for it.” Rose thought Hux incapable of any words but insults and angry speeches. She was wrong. She began to laugh.

Hux glared at her. Millicent, tiring of flattery and desiring food, began to meow insistently. He went to the tiny kitchenette and opened a can, plopping the brown meat-slop into a bowl labeled “Millie”. “There you go, darling” said Hux. He gently set it on the floor. Millicent purred and lapped at the wet food. “What’s the plan?”, Hux asked her.

“Get Millicent into a carrier, then jump in an escape pod together. I will set up shielding devices from the pod’s internal controls so they will not be able to shoot at us. Then, I’ll activate the homing beacon.”

Hux frowned. “Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the shielding?”

“No. That way, Poe and Finn can find us and tractor us in.”

“I see.” Rose half expected him to argue more. He didn’t. Instead, he left the main living area ( a sad room that was an amalgamation of a living room complete with ice blue couch, and a kitchenette with a tiny stove, and the desk of an office) to what was undoubtedly the bedroom. He returned with a briefcase in hand. “I’m all packed. Have been for a few months now. I just have to ask you a question: why are you doing this? You hate me.”

  
“Why does it matter to you?” Rose asked. 

“Just curious. If I’m to be interrogated and dragged off to a war crimes tribunal, I’d like to die satisfied.”

“I’m doing it for Millicent.”

“You don’t seem like a cat person. I’m surprised.”

“I’m not. But I like Millicent.”

Hux smiled thinly. “She certainly has taken a shine to you. I am impressed. She does not like many people.”

“I heard,” Rose said.

“The vets have to sedate her to perform an examination. And no wonder. She’s had a rough start in life, but at least she is having a good retirement now.” Millicent polished off her food, and wound her long body around Hux’s legs once again. “I call you my best girl, but you’re really an old lady, aren’t you, Millie? We’ve known each other for a long time.”

“How are you going to transport her?”, Rose asked. Worshipping Millicent was all well and good, but they had limited time. 

Hux sighed. “She is harness-trained, but one cannot walk a cat like a dog. If I put her in the harness, she’ll think that we are just going on an outing and stop to play. If I put her in the carrier, and we are seen, this will look suspicious to any other officers. And she’ll think I’m taking her to the vet. But that’s the only other option, I’m afraid.” He pressed a door panel in the wall to reveal a closet, and grabbed a black box with a handle, airholes, and a wire mesh door. 

Millicent hissed when she saw the carrier. Hux swiftly bent down and picked her up, murmuring constantly: “That’s it, that’s my good girl, we’re just going on a little trip. No, you’re not going to get hurt.” He paused. “Um...Rose, right, can you open the door for me?” Rose nodded, and released the catch. The carrier was lined with a folded blanket, but she could not blame the cat for disliking confinement. Hux put his cat in, barely escaping her teeth as he shut the door. Millicent began to yowl. 

“We need a cover story,” Rose said. “I was seen going to your room, so I said that you ordered me to look after your cat. Maybe I’m taking her to be groomed or something.”

“Yes, a cover story is good,” Hux replied. “Wait, who saw you?”

“This radar technician named Matt. But I think he was actually Kylo Ren in disguise, his hair looked like a wig…”

Hux’s complexion turned even paler than it already was. “Oh no. Ren does like to play dress-up. Did he read your mind and throw you into the vending machines? If he did, we’re done for. He’ll know who you really are, and he’ll know I was the mole.”

“No. I don’t think he read my mind. Poe and Rey…” Rose trailed off, not wanting to remember the horrors her friends suffered at Ren’s hands. “They said that they could feel it when he was in their heads. I didn’t notice anything. As a matter of fact, he was kind of nice. He asked me out.”

“He WHAT?!” Hux’s face was livid now.

“He asked me out,” Rose repeated, “And I declined. I made up a serious girlfriend back home. We should head out now.”

Hux took the carrier in one hand, the briefcase in another. Rose opened the door, and they set out. Hux only took a few steps before wincing once again. 

“I can take the briefcase,” Rose said. “Or Millicent.” Wordlessly, he passed the briefcase to her. They made their way down the corridor, Hux stoically hobbling but refusing to show weakness in front of Rose or his cat. Millicent had ended her vocal performance and was now scratching at the sides of the carrier.

“And where are the escape pods?” Rose whispered.

“Nearest ones are by the Bridge,” Hux replied. “We’ll be seen there, so those are out. There are some by the cafeteria, and that should be empty at this time of day. We’ll go there.”

They rounded a corner and walked some more. Rose threw Hux’s free arm over her shoulders again, and this time he didn’t protest. Their progress was slower than it had been earlier, and Rose reminded herself to make sure Dr. Kalonia properly checked over Hux when they got back to the base. When. Not “if”. 

She was starting to recognize some of the corridors; she’d passed a few on her way in. There was the cafeteria again. “Just a little further,” Hux said. 

They pressed on. Footsteps sounded behind them. Hux tensed up. 

“Ah, Armitage!” exclaimed a grey-faced man who looked like he had smiled once in his life and hated the experience. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you today. The leaks are continuing, but we have some new insight on a possible source…” He looked at Rose, peering beneath her cap and glancing at the briefcase clenched in her hand. “And who is  _ this? _ ” he asked. They were doomed.

  
  



	4. Coat

Rose glanced at Hux’s face. Sweat beaded at his brow. “Allegiant General Pryde, I can explain. My Lieutenant is transferring some datawork to Captain Peavey’s office while I take my cat to the vet. She is a new transfer from the  _ Pulverizer.”  _

Wait, that was actually a real ship name? She was terrified for her life and simultaneously holding in a giggle. 

Pryde’s frown deepened, if such a thing were even possible. “I see, Armitage. Is your new hire transferring that datawork to the Resistance? Have you grown tired of committing treason yourself?” He drew a blaster, and trained it on Hux. All Hux did in his defense was slowly lower the cat carrier to ground behind him. Millicent meowed indignantly. 

Pryde turned to Rose. “If you tell me what he made you do, girl, I’ll do damage control and record that you were only following the orders of a superior officer. You will receive demerits, of course, but not treason charges. Just tell me what you leaked, and who’s seen it. I am being generous.”

“Um…” Rose had not actually been privy to the intelligence Hux delivered. That was the business of General Organa and her inner circle. Let’s see. A naive, stupid Junior Officer might not know either. “I actually don’t know, sir. I didn’t see any of the files. I just pushed the ‘upload’ keys when the General told me to, sir. I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to betray the First Order, I would have died first. I don’t want General Hux to get hurt, sir, I’m sure this is just all a misunderstanding, he’d never betray us like this, he’s so loyal, please don’t hurt him...” The briefcase slipped from her hands and thudded on the floor.

She screwed up her face and thought about Paige. Her parents. The man standing by her side who was responsible for their deaths, a petty, vain coward who didn’t even do them the courtesy of firing the shots himself. The poisoned oceans of Hays Minor, choked with sediments from the mines and chemicals that the Order forced the engineers and project managers to ignore as they threatened their way into bleeding more ore out of the overtaxed veins of earth. Clear waters were now a dull orange-brown, the silver fish her father would have caught for her mother to sell in the market floating belly-up. Tears flowed from her eyes as swiftly as the stream behind her childhood home after a heavy rain.

Pryde stared at her in disgust and confusion. Apparently so much emotion was unbecoming of an officer of the First Order. He fumbled in his pocket with his free hand and thrust a handkerchief at her. Rose flinched and leaned back before she realized what the gesture meant. She took the square of cloth and dabbed at her eyes.  _ Wait, this man is the highest ranking officer in this evil army. I should do whatever I can to make him suffer.  _ She unfolded it and blew her nose with a wet honk. She handed it back to Pryde, who waved her away. 

“Keep it,” he said. “Now that you’ve got all that out of your system, let’s have your name, rank and serial number.”

_ Kriff,  _ Hux mouthed at her. Rose bit her lip. “Um, Lily....Mitaka, sir. Lieutenant, and the serial number is 47043289.” In truth, she was just reciting the combination to the lock on the good toolbox back on base, but Pryde didn’t have to know that.

There was a terrible wheezing noise. Pryde was laughing. He pulled out a commlink, still keeping his blaster trained on Hux. “Captain Krabbens, bring a squad to Level 4, Emergency Assembly Point 5b. We have a traitor and a spy to dispose of. General Hux has betrayed the First Order, and he had help.” He ended the call.

Rose gulped.  _ I’m not going to die like this. Not here.  _ Pryde grabbed her arm, fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. “I must say, I knew there were traitors here, though I had no idea how far the rot went,” he said, looking from her to Hux. “But since Armitage was Brendol’s son, I should have guessed that he’d meet his downfall with a barely legal slut.”

Rose blinked. Then, when Pryde’s words made their way from her ears to her brain, she saw red. Her left leg swung, and her boot met the soft bulge of his groin.

Pryde keened and hissed, dropping the blaster and clasping his hands to his crotch. Rose whipped out her blaster from its holster, and shot him in the chest. It was set to stun, but that didn’t matter. He crumpled to the shiny floor. She holstered her blaster, and picked the briefcase back up. “Come on,” she told Hux, who had been doing nothing more useful than opening and shutting his mouth like a Zank-fish, eyes bugging out. “Let’s get in this escape pod. I’m sure we haven’t much time.”

This seemed to snap Hux out of whatever dissociative state he was in. “The squad will be here at any moment now. I don’t think we have time. I could stall, tell them that Pryde attacked me and I defended myself…”

“ _ You  _ defended yourself?” Rose snapped. “Interesting. I remember that differently. Anyhow, you might go from being accused of treason to mutiny. Pick up your cat.” Hux obeyed. She took his incongruously delicate wrist in her hand, and dragged him towards the escape pods. 

Bootheels thundered down the hallway. There was a squad of stormtroopers surrounding them, blaster rifles trained upon them. Rose shut her eyes. A gloved hand was squeezing hers. She leaned against his shoulder. Though she hated Hux, she didn’t want to die alone. 

“They killed Pryde!” the Captain exclaimed, his rank identifiable by the red pauldron. Though it sounded toneless through his vocoder. “I guess we bring them both back to High Command to figure out what to do with them.” A pair of troopers stepped towards them, bearing binders. 

“Hey!” Matt the Radar Technician emerged from around a corner, wrench in hand. “What are you all doing to General Hux? Kylo Ren won’t be pleased.”

“General Hux has betrayed the Order,” the Captain said.

“And where is your proof?”

“Allegiant General Pryde told us,  _ Matt. _ ”

“Allegiant General Pryde is not the Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren knows everything. Allegiant General Pryde does not. And he isn’t shredded either.”

The troopers stared at each other. “What’s your point, Matt?” their Captain shook his helmeted head. 

Matt waved his hand. “You didn’t get a call from Allegiant General Pryde,” he said.

“We didn’t get a call from Allegiant General Pryde”, the troopers chorused.

“You are going to the cafeteria to get muffins”.

“We are going to the cafeteria to get muffins.”

As one man, the troopers turned and quickly marched away to the cafeteria. Mind control and the promise of pastries were powerful things. “Alright,” Matt told them. “You two can go now.”

Hux gaped at him. “Ren, what are---”

“It’s Matt now.”

“Matt. Fine. Whatever. Of course I support your right to feel comfortable in your own skin, even if this includes changing your name every few years, at least Matt is an actual name unlike  _ Kylo…” _

“Thank you, Matt.” Rose cut him off. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”

Hux made frantic shushing gestures at her.

“No,” Matt shook his head. “I’m not ready yet. I’ve got, like some personal stuff to work out. Before I see them again. Go. I’ll make sure that nobody on the Bridge shoots at you. And Hux?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry. For everything.” He left.

“Kriffer didn’t even give me a chance to reject his apology,” Hux muttered.

“Were you going to?”

“Yes. No. Maybe.” He tightened his grip on the cat carrier again. “ ‘Sorry’ doesn’t magically make lower back pain and tracheal damage go away, you know.”

They stepped into the escape pod. The doors hissed shut and locked with an ominous  _ thunk.  _ Rose pulled the cloaking device and beacon out of her pocket. Better safe than sorry. She stuck the cloaking device into the nav-input socket and activated it. Then, she turned on the beacon. “There. Finn and Poe can find us now. Best settle in, it could be a few hours.”

Hux slumped to the floor beside Millicent. Rose joined him. “Sorry doesn’t bring a planet back either,” she murmured. “Not that anyone’s ever said it to me before.”

Hux bit his lip. “I’m sorry. For your dog. And your planet. And for conducting myself in an...ungentlemanly fashion with you earlier.”

Kark, he had no right to look so pretty. She didn’t want to forgive him. They were just words, after all. 

“And I should thank you,” Hux continued. “For killing Pryde. That was...impressive. You just kicked like that, and shot him. I didn’t think you had something like that in you.”

“I didn’t kill him,” Rose said. “The blaster was on stun.”

“Oh. Still, that was a nice bit of close-quarters fighting. I’ve fantasized about Pryde getting kicked in the balls for years, now. I guess dreams do come true.” He smirked.

“He shouldn’t have insulted me.”

Hux rubbed one of his fingers nervously. “That is a fact. One that I have learned through first-hand experience.”

Rose blushed. “Do you know what the worst part is? I’m twenty-seven. I still get people calling me ‘girl’. I’m not one anymore. Just because I’m short, people think I’m young.”

“That could get old.”

“Yeah, it does.” They sat in awkward silence for a while. She didn’t ask about Hux’s hatred for Pryde, she didn’t want to know.

The escape pod was insulated to the bare minimum necessary for survival in space. Their blood would not freeze, but it was cold. She stuck her hands under the armpits of her thin tunic, and hunched over. 

Hux shrugged off his greatcoat, and passed it to her. “Here. Take this. You need it.”

“You won’t be cold?”

“I’ll be fine. Wear it.”

Rose’s disinclination to obey anything this man said warred with her shivering body. After a few seconds of deliberation, she pulled it on. The gaberwool weighed her down, and the hem went past her ankles. It wasn’t a coat so much as a blanket with sleeves. But it was exactly what she needed here. “Thank you.”

Hux stood and peered out the tiny viewport. “It seems our ride is here.” Rose got up and joined him. There was the  _ Falcon,  _ steadily growing larger. Soon, they felt the pull of a tractor beam. Hux pressed up against her. “For warmth,” he said. 

They clunked around as the  _ Falcon’s  _ cargo bay doors shut and the airlock sealed. The pod’s door hissed open. Finn helped her out and swept her up into a hug. “You’re back! And safe! I was so worried.”

“We’ve done crazier things before,” Rose reminded him.

“Yes, but we were together.”

Hux got out, carrying the cat carrier and the briefcase. “And then there’s me,” he said.

“Yes. There’s you,” Finn replied. “And your cat. How is she doing these days? Did the eye thing…”

“I couldn’t save the eye,” Hux said. “But I managed to make sort of a cast for the tail, and that healed up well. She doesn’t seem to mind about the eye, though she can’t jump too high because of it. At least she doesn’t need to.”

“Ah. I saw. I wondered.”

Finn turned to Rose. “He made me steal some bacta and meat for the cat, when he first got her. She wasn’t in the best shape.”

“No, she wasn’t,” Hux said. “A hawk got her, and then some complete piece of scum tried to drown her. She’s lucky I found her.” He crouched down to the carrier. “Aren’t you, baby?” Millicent meowed in agreement.

“I have terms about providing intelligence to the Resistance in the future,” Hux stated as they moved into the main cabin. “I will only speak if Rose is present.”

“Um…” Finn looked at Hux, and then at Rose. She was still wearing Hux’s greatcoat. Sweat prickled at the back of her neck as she realized the stiff rib of unknown material in the right sleeve was probably a dagger. 

“I’ll do what it takes to get us more intel,” Rose told Finn.

“You’re wearing his  _ coat!”,  _ Finn cried. “He gave it to you, and you just took it? Why? You could do so much better, Rose!”

Rose was baffled. Then, she remembered that among stormtroopers, sharing clothes (even something as small and inconspicuous as a glove) was equivalent to a proposition. The more sentimental and expensive the item of clothing, the more serious the proposal.That was why he’d spent many afternoons with Rose grilling her for information on “Resistance courtship behavior” until Rose broke down and said that yes, this wasn’t a gesture of romantic intent here but that he really, really should just go talk to Poe, he wouldn’t be disappointed. In Finn’s eyes, Rose had just agreed to get married.To General Hux.  _ Does this hold true for officers, or only for the troopers? Oh dear. _

“She was cold,” said Hux defensively. “So I gave her my coat.”

“Do you want it back?” Rose began to extricate her arms from the too-long sleeves.

Hux shook his head. “No. You can keep it. They’ll probably frisk me and make me strip when we get back to the base anyway.”

Rose’s heart sank. She didn’t know why. 

The three of them sat down as Poe flew. This should have been a victory. But it didn’t feel like one. “I don’t want Kylo Ren to be half-hanged, stripped, coated in honey, and left out planetside for the ants anymore,” Hux said. 

They both looked at him. “What? I used to fantasize about that, when he was choking me and throwing me against things. I want him to suffer now, still. But I don’t want him to  _ lose.” _

“Why?” Finn asked.

“He helped us escape,” Rose said. “I don’t know why he did that. Or why he likes to dress up as a radar technician.”

“He needs help,” Hux said. “Professional mental help. He’s a mess. He’s a...what’s the common term for it,  _ punk bitch.  _ But it would give me some spark of faith in humanity if he could work on himself and get better.” He let out a sigh. “I got started in this spy thing for revenge. But now I don’t want it anymore.” Without his coat, he looked smaller. Like a red scavenger-crab without its shell, but cuter.  _ Why did I think the last part? Ugh. No. You used to have good taste in men. _

“I just want to stop fighting in stupid wars,” Finn said. “And maybe find my parents.”

“Parents are overrated,” said Hux.

“At least you knew that you were the son of a Dianoga’s putrid arsehole and a nameless kitchen worker” said Finn. “You never had to wonder.”

“Well, there is that,” Hux mused. “Though I still speculate about my mother’s name now and then. She had to have had one.”

“Not if she was part of the Stormtrooper program.”

“True. What about you, Rose? What do you want?”

Rose hesitated. A long time ago, she wanted nothing more than to press down on Hux’s throat, blaster in hand, and scream: “I want my planet back, you son of a bitch!”. But that wouldn’t restore Hays Minor. Just like the way an apology wouldn’t heal wounds. Besides, she knew nothing of Hux’s mother. She could have been a nice lady who tried her best but got the worst in return. “I used to want revenge,” she said. “I’m not sure I want it anymore.”

“What about now?”, Finn asked.

“I don’t know. A dog or something. Realistically I don’t have the space for one though. So, maybe a cat. And a chair to sit in with it, a holobook to read, and some tea to drink. Because that’s attainable.”

“That would be nice.”

Finn muttered something about helping Poe check the navigational system and left them. Hux turned to her.

“Rose?’

“Yes?”

Hux cleared his throat nervously. “You are talented, and you saved our lives. Millicent likes you too. I want to make it clear that I...admire you very much.”

“Oh. Well, thank you.” Now Rose was blushing. “Even though I bit your finger and I’m Rebel Scum?”

“Technically I am too, now. If they let me join. And I deserved the bite.”

“Yeah. You did.” Rose observed the red flush on his cheeks. “Did you  _ enjoy  _ the bite?” If anyone had ever bitten her, she would have kicked them away where it hurt. Not flail about screaming and then run away and hide.

“Possibly.”

They both stared at the floor. “Well, I have no idea where I’m going from here,” Rose said. “Maybe we’ll blow up some more bases, get the  _ Steadfast  _ and the  _ Finalizer  _ too. The war will end someday. I’ll try to find a job as a mechanic somewhere.”

“I’m sure someone will hire you” said Hux. “In the meantime, my accommodations will be someone else’s problem. I only hope they’ll give me a sink and a toilet.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Rose said. “And I can look after Millicent.”

“Thank you. She’ll be in good hands.”

The engines thrummed beneath them, and Rose drifted off to sleep. Her head fell on Hux’s shoulder. She had an arm around her now. Hux's arm. She didn’t mind. They’d work it all out later. Her mission was accomplished. The cat was safe.

  
  
  



End file.
